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3D UI patent snapped up by Apple in 2008: could be bases-covering, could be life-changing
We've seen this done badly so many time that it's hard to imagine anyone so self serious as Apple taking a crack at it (even if they've already done so in the desktop space), but for whatever reason the company picked up this 3D UI patent back in 2008 under the guise of a few French employees. The patent was just released in December, and describes in some detail a method of zooming around in 3D using multitouch. Of course, this picture seems to imply that it's for jumping through some representative icons on a 3D plane, but the patent seems more concerned with the core mechanics of using multiple fingers at once to get around in 3D space and manipulate 3D objects -- and then going to great lengths to cover Apple's back in regards to multitouch, capacitive touch, and "multifunction" devices. So, this could be something we see in "the tablet," the next iPhone or even never, but at least we can rest assured that pinch to zoom won't be the only multitouch game in town forever.
Beta Beat: Droplr adds to the quick-share repertoire
One of my favorite features in OS X is the ability to drag pretty much anything, drop it on pretty much anything else, and have the item be contextually useful in some other application. So pervasive is this gesture that we even waxed romantically about it some time ago. An example of this would be dragging an image from Safari onto an iChat window, allowing you to share the image with one of your buddies. Enter Droplr. This tiny application sits in your menu bar and allows you to drop all manner of files onto it and share them via a variety of venues such as Twitter or email. The tagline "drag, drop, share" is about as accurate as one can get when referring to Droplr's simplicity in file-sharing. If you're intrigued, head on over to the Droplr homepage and peep the screencast they have made available. The Snow Leopard-only app and hosting service is available now for free (as in ad-supported) with 1GB storage. Don't be surprised to see a for-pay option with no ads and additional storage in the near future. Go check it out and let us know in the comments how it works out for you.
MIT gestural computing makes multitouch look old hat
Ah, the MIT Media Lab, home to Big Bird's illegitimate progeny, augmented reality projects aplenty, and now three-dimensional gestural computing. The new bi-directional display being demoed by the Cambridge-based boffins performs both multitouch functions that we're familiar with and hand movement recognition in the space in front of the screen -- which we're also familiar with, but mostly from the movies. The gestural motion tracking is done via embedded optical sensors behind the display, which are allowed to see what you're doing by the LCD alternating rapidly (invisible to the human eye, but probably not to human pedantry) between what it's displaying to the viewer and a pattern for the camera array. This differs from projects like Natal, which have the camera offset from the display and therefore cannot work at short distances, but if you want even more detail, you'll find it in the informative video after the break. [Thanks, Rohit]
Harvard and MIT researchers working to simulate the visual cortex to give computers true sight
It sounds like a daunting task, but some researchers at Harvard and MIT have banded together to basically "reverse engineer" the human brain's ability to process visual data into usable information. However, instead of testing one processing model at a time, they're using a screening technique borrowed from molecular biology to test a range of thousands of models up against particular object recognition tasks. To get the computational juice to accomplish this feat, they've been relying heavily on GPUs, saying the off-the-shelf parallel computing setup they've got gives them hundred-fold speed improvements over conventional methods. So far they claim their results are besting "state-of-the-art computer vision systems" (which, if iPhoto's skills are any indication, wouldn't take much), and they hope to not only improve tasks such as face recognition, object recognition and gesture tracking, but also to apply their knowledge back into a better understanding of the brain's mysterious machinations. A delicious cycle! There's a video overview of their approach after the break. [Thanks, David]
Latest SixthSense demo features paper 'laptop,' camera gestures
We've already seen MIT researcher Pranav Mistry's SixthSense projector-based augmented-reality system in some cool demos, but he just gave a TED talk and his latest ideas are the wildest yet. Forget simple projections, he's moved on to taking photos by just making a box with your fingers, identifying books and products on store shelves and projecting reviews and other information on them, projecting flight schedules on boarding passes, and even a new paper "laptop" concept that works by using a microphone on the paper to sense when you're touching it. It's pretty amazing stuff -- check out his whole talk at the read link.
STMicroelectronics' 3-axis MEMS gyroscope gives a new level of control to your mobile
Man, talk about timely. We heard right around 11 months ago that MEMS gyroscopes would be hitting an array of handsets in 2009, and while it's looking like that estimate will be just a touch off, you won't catch us kvetching with "early 2010." STMicroelectronics has just announced its new 3-axis MEMS gyroscope, which promises 360 degree "angular-rate detection for high-precision 3D gesture and motion recognition in mobile phones, game controllers, personal navigation systems and other portable devices." The gyro is said to provide two separate outputs for each of the three axes at the same time: a 400dps full-scale value for slow motion, and a 1,600dps full-scale value to detect and measure speedy gestures and movements. We're told that samples of the tech are available now with mass production scheduled for Q1 2010; and yeah PSP, it's totally cool if you keep sweating. NGage is about to be back... with a vengeance! [Via FarEastGizmos]
Apple's Magic Mouse now shipping: seeks mighty revenge
Apple's Mighty Mouse was one of the most loved and loathed rodents of all time. When it worked, it was a magnificent productivity booster for Mac users. Unfortunately, over time, even after hours and hours of vigorous rubbing, the top-mounted trackball would become so ensnared in hand-jam that owners were left with two options: delicately splay the mouse for a bit of X-acto home surgery... or smash it with a vengeance hammer until justice was served. So maybe now you can understand all the hopeful fuss made over its successor: the Magic Mouse. It's now shipping to those of you who ordered it separately from its iMac bundle. Snow Leopard (and Leopard) users can even download the software update now so that all those multi-touch and gestural features will be enabled once the bluetooth mouse arrives. Then we'll see if this is the mouse that rights all those wrongs.Update: Added 10.5.8 Leopard download link. Read -- Wireless Mouse Software Update 1.0 (Snow Leopard)Read -- Wireless Mouse Software Update 1.0 (Leopard) Read -- Magic Mouse now shipping
Bill Gates: Natal for Windows coming to an office near you
The idea of bending over to pick up a virtual tennis racket in front of that 50-inch flat screen in our living room makes perfect sense to us. In fact, we can't wait to see Natal come to the Xbox platform. However, the idea of manipulating an excel spreadsheet on a 15-inch screen within a 5 x 5-foot cubicle sounds daunting, to say the least. Fortunately, Microsoft's plans to integrate Natal into corporate Windows environments appears rather sober, albeit, entirely lacking in specifics. In an interview with CNET news, Bill Gates says that Natal's depth-sensing camera won't be limited to gaming use, "but for media consumption as a whole, and even if they connect it up to Windows PCs for interacting in terms of meetings, and collaboration, and communication." Without going into detail, the Microsoft Chairman adds that use of the technology in the office, "is getting much more concrete, and is pretty exciting." In fact, Bill sees it delivering "incredible value" when used within cubicle farms. Perhaps. We certainly won't argue the value of Natal for gaming or even manipulating content in a home theater setup like we've seen with Toshiba's Spatial Motion Interface, but for the office, incredible value... really?
Nokia interface patent fits like an AR-enhancing glove
Okay, you know the drill by now: just because it's in a patent doesn't mean it's happening anytime soon, if ever. With that said, we'd love to see what Nokia had in mind when they concocted this one. As Unwired View recently unearthed, the Finnish phone maker has drawn up a design doc / patent application for comfortable, stretchable material that fits over your skin and is used for device interaction. Gestures and stretches are computed and signaled into nearby computers, phones, or interestingly enough "near-eye displays" -- sounds like we're getting into a bit of virtual / augmented reality territory here -- and they are also tailored to provide feedback via vibration. Again, don't hold your breath on seeing this come to fruition any point in the near (or even long) future, but still, we know what you're thinking: Nokia's gonna have to think of a ton of kooky color descriptions to accentuate any future lineup of input wristbands / fingerbands.[Via Pocket-lint]
Canesta gesture controlled TV frees us from the tyranny of the remote
See the look of euphoric bliss on this man's face? He's calm and relaxed because he is using Canesta's new gesture TV control technology. No longer does this cat have to scroll through hundreds upon hundreds of channels on a standard channel listing. Au contraire, today he's using his right hand to wave through a cover view-esque selection of stations, and boy does he make it look easy. The heart of this bad boy is a low-cost 3-D chip that uses a single CMOS sensor to output a continuous stream of depth maps that can be interpreted by as specific gestures, obstacles, faces, or individuals, depending upon the application. Although the current demo might be especially appealing to you and your couch-potato brethren, the company has big plans for this device in the realms of security, robotics, medical devices, and more. But first, it will have to tear itself away from the couch, Video after the break.
Accelerometer-dependent text entry patent from HTC sounds like more trouble than it's worth
We're all for closing the gap between our desktop and mobile WPMs, but this might be a step in the wrong... direction (keep reading to understand why that was a miserable, unforgivable pun). HTC has filed for a patent that would have your phone determine which character you meant to type by analyzing its current tilt at the time you press a key, the idea being that a single key could be responsible for entering as many as five different letters and numbers. It seems like that'd make entering a text more like a game of Labarynth than an actually enjoyable (or efficient) process, but hey, we guess some people are really good with their wrists. [Via pocketnow.com and wmpoweruser.com]
Video: Microsoft's Future really does make your computer a big-ass table
The problem with most so-called "homes of the future" is that they come off looking like a theme-park vision of the space age (read: the 1970s). The Microsoft Home, however, manages to piece together a realistic vision of our homes on a 5 to 10 year horizon -- a timeline just long enough to allow the nascent technologies of today to go mainstream. As such, it's no surprise to find dwellers interacting with the environment through gestures and voice to control interactive cooking surfaces in the kitchen and the digital wall paper in the kids' room. More prophetic perhaps, the promise that "one day your computer will be a big-ass table" appears to be coming true in the dining room. Take the tour in video form after the break.
Filco's SmartTrack Neo multi-touch trackpad gives PCs the 2-fingered salute
It sure took awhile but you're looking at one of, if not the first external USB trackpads with multi-touch gesture support. The $50 (¥4,980) SmartTrack Neo model FTP500UB rocks USB 1.1 and XP / Vista drivers to bring your legacy laptop up to fighting specs with fancy modern rigs. A two-handed mouse the size of a brick -- really, how can you resist?[Via Akihabara News]
Conceptual interface brings gesture-based data transfers to medical realm
It's pretty clear by watching the demonstration video (which is lurking in the read link, just so you know) that this stuff is still pretty preliminary, but we could definitely see it going places with the right people behind it. The Interface Database Concept was dreamed up by Alan Sien Wei Hshieh, and by utilizing a relatively simple set of Javascripts, he was able to overcome traditional platform incompatibilities that can so often hamstring medical hardware / software in day-to-day usage. The creation aims to enable "seamless and intuitive data transfer" and to "define a set of gesture and multitouch commands that will override controls and input devices that may be difficult to use on medical devices." The aforementioned vid shows off gesture-based transfers and even an accelerometer-based cross-platform transfer, both of which make you forget that we're just talking about X-rays and blood tests.[Thanks, Kara]
GestureTek brings 3D and gestures together for remote control
The idea of gesture-based remote control isn't new, but GestureTek has added in 3D tracking to the mix for, you guessed it -- even more expressive interaction with your TV. After all, you don't live in flatland, so why should your remote control gestures? Of course, adding in depth perception requires the use of more than one webcam, but maybe that's not a big tradeoff in our age of six and more speakers in the living room. The setup will be on display at CES (sans Xpletive), so we'll try and swing by for a, um, hands on while we puzzle over how to add voice commands to this system. Watching the big game with your buddies just might get even more entertaining yet.
Apple files patent for gesture-based text editing
An Apple patent unearthed by Mac Rumors named Swipe Gestures for Touch Screen Keyboards suggests a future direction the company might be taking which would substantially change interaction with devices like the iPhone. According to the document, the new system would allow for simple finger gestures like swipes to the left or right to control basic functions of text editing. Some movements outlined in the application include a left swipe for deletion of characters, right swipes for a space, and a swipe down in place of the return key. Of course, these types of gestures are nothing new (and frankly, nothing patentable we suspect), as applications on the company's own devices -- namely the jailbreak-only MobileTerminal -- feature almost this exact implementation of gesture control, and Microsoft has had a similar (albeit stylus-based) concept in WinMo for years. Still, adding in this functionality to the software's existing tools would likely improve navigation and input, and opens the door for solutions to the lingering (and annoying) copy / paste problems Apple seems to have.[Via Mac Rumors]
Nokia planning touch-less, gesture-controlled devices?
Usually when we're talking about Nokia and patents, a mention of Qualcomm can't be far behind. This time however, we're looking at something entirely less boring, fascinating even: ultra-sound sensors that detect hand gestures in the air in front of the device. Now the stretch. Nokia's chief designer, Alastair Curtis, was asked at a recent cocktail party why Nokia's N-series of multimedia devices have yet to see a multi-touch interface, Curtis replied, "We've not launched what we think is right for N-series in a touch product. You'll see in the coming months, years... what we feel is right." Curtis then elaborated, "Much as I'm talking to you now with gestures." Hmm. Ok Alastair, if such devices are in the chute, as long as they don't resemble the Palm V-series... we're cool. [Thanks, Pdexter]Read -- Patent application Read -- Curtis quotes
Mgestyk Fusion marries Wiimote and PC in interesting new way
Usually we leave it up to our own Mike Sylvester when it comes to doing crazy things with the Wiimote, but he might have some competition in Mgestyk Fusion. See, the sensor bar kind of limits the scope of the Wiimote's ability to work in 3D spaces. Mgestyk Fusion replaces the sensor bar with a web cam and, as you can see in the video above, really helps Nintendo's controller to be all it can be. The set-up will be available to witness in person next week at the Montreal International Games Summit. Until then, we'll just have to settle for the video above.[Via Engadget]
Four-finger gestures hacked into older MacBooks
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Four_finger_gestures_hacked_into_older_MacBooks'; You know good and well you were instantly jealous of the multi-finger gesture support announced for those minty fresh new Mac laptops, and if you're finally ready to ditch that envy you've been harboring and just get even, have a look. Without even resorting to gangsterism, users of pre-October 2008 Apple laptops can get the four-finger Exposé and Application Switching working -- all's that required is the install disc from a unibody MacBook, a little tweak of the registry and a pinch of patience. We can't say for sure how far back this hack will go (we're guessing your PowerBook G3 is out of luck), but we do know that it works just fine with a January '08 MacBook Air. Give it a go if you're a risk taker, but don't blame us if your atoms start to melt. [Via MacRumors]
Mgestyk Fusion: the Force is 6-degrees strong with this one
Everyone and their grandma loves the Wii. But even Nintendo's new dual-axis MotionPlus struggles in 3D space due to limitations presented by the sensor bar. Mgestyk thinks it can do better by marrying its interesting gesture processing technology to the sensor data received from devices like the Wiimote. Mgestyk Fusion replaces the sensor bar with a 3D camera and image processing to translate yaw, pitch, roll, forward/back, right/left, and up/down motions from the Wiimote connected to a PC over Bluetooth. Sure, it seemed to work reasonably well at slaying clones in the video, but we're more interested to see how it holds up to the live scrutiny of a public demo when it makes an appearance at the Montreal International Games Summit next week. Until then, you'll have to feed your awkward, down-in-the-basement, lightsabering fantasies with the clip posted after the break.
